


Challenge

by Alvaerele



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: F/M, For now I'm thinking a multi-chapter Reader/Sniper fic, Might build up on more characters, POV Second Person, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-07-16 12:21:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7268008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alvaerele/pseuds/Alvaerele
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yeah, you were good. The best, even. But the good can have their bad days, right? After receiving a domination from the other team's sniper, you aren't in the best of moods. However, he seems positively elated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  If you were to be blunt, you would say you were the best sniper. Ever. Like, in history of people pointing guns at other people. On a good day, Scout could sweep through the BLU barracks and retrieve the briefcase without any bodies to intercept him. That feat was due to your rapid firing and precision. You felt, after years of perfecting your practice, you were allowed to toot your own horn from time to time. Hell, could anyone else boast taking down the entire team in 10 seconds?  
    Perhaps your ego was a tad inflated. You could accept that. However, it was taking a beating today. The reason? BLU's Sniper.  
    Mundy was a lot like yourself. You both wore hats and orange-tinted aviators. You both pointed your scopes at heads. And you both enjoyed a fair bit of black coffee. However, he lacked a specific chromosome that you had. Something that a certain punk from Boston would poke fun at on many occasions. As always, however, you brushed off his attempts at belittling humour. Scout was an idiot, you assured yourself, and you wouldn't let him get to you.  
    But as you felt a familiar shooting pain hit you right in your cerebrum, and blackness enveloped your world, you braced yourself for some more jabs from the small kid with a big attitude. You respawned and immediately noscoped the wall a few times -- a tic you picked up after some of your more frustrating days. Scout was waiting for you, leaning his slender frame against the medical locker.   
    "I heard the domination jingle," he said, referring to the blaring tune that played whenever a merc scored three consecutive kills on someone else. "Was it Kangaroo Jack again?"  
    You pulled out your melee -- an overly large shank of ham -- and proceeded to whale on the teen as he laughed at you, all the while begging for you to stop amidst his overzealous revelry. His hands went up in resignation, and you decided to leave him alone. For now.  
    "Yes, it was Mundy," you answered, a seething iciness to your tone. "That bleedin' twerp keeps catching me off guard. Taking me down when I'm trying to protect mid'."  
    "Just focus 'im. That's what I would do. Nothing he can do to stop you if he's dead."  
    You nodded in consideration of his advice. At that, you raised a hand and beckoned him to follow you as you both stepped out the automated spawn doors. He matched your pace, offered you an approving wink as he passed you by, and sped ahead. Now it was your turn to annoy the sniper.  
    You would take him down again and again. You'd wait for him outside spawn doors. You would always keep your sights on him. He will not be able to escape your wrath, for you are the best sniper the world has ever-  
    You hear a blast right as you round the corner, and suddenly your body is falling to the ground and you go blind once more.  
    When you respawn, you skip releasing your aggression on the wall, and go straight for dashing out of the med bay. You wouldn't let him catch you this time. As you came around the corner again, you bent your knees in a crouch, and as you predicted, you heard the bullet hit the wall behind you. You got him.  
    It was at this point that you got a good look at him. You noticed a smile creep upon his lips as he reloaded. You took this to mean he was impressed, (as he should be), but you didn't idle for long. While he was reloading, you pulled up your rifle, aimed the scope at him, and took the shot.   
    Miss.  
    You cursed beneath your breath, and quickly hopped from your spot. He was already aiming at you, and you heard the shot hit Engi, who was tailing behind you. You muttered a small apology, but kept running. You knew a good nest up the stairs. Waiting for Mundy there would be your best chance to get your revenge. After speeding up the stairwell, you spent the precious seconds you had looking for a decent hiding spot. That hiding spot ended up being behind a railing that ran parallel with the door he would be entering from. You pulled up your scope and waited. You counted 4 seconds before Mundy was up there, kukri in hand. The red dot aligned _perfectly_ , but the moment your finger had pulled the trigger, he spotted you and sidestepped to the left -- another miss.  
    "God, damn it!" you roared, ditching your rifle and pulling out the ham. "Stop doing that!"  
    A low rumble of laughter erupted from Mundy, which only made you more furious. As you came after him, he backpedaled, swinging his center mass away from each throw you gave him. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't hit him. He was the slipperiest motherfucker you had ever met. You put your all into this brawl, yet he didn't have the decency to fight back. His knife was almost glued to his side. Then, you took notice of something. He was _still_  laughing. He wasn't even trying to hurt you anymore. What the hell...?  
    "Fight back, dude!" you barked, huffing in exhaustion. That ham was pretty heavy, and you weren't going easy on him, either. "C'mon, just fight!"  
    "Aw, but Sheila, this is _much_  more fun." His eyes narrowed playfully. That little gesture made you tense up, heat rising to your cheeks. Your anger did not lessen in the slightest.  
    "Fine. If you feel like fucking around with me, then that's the game we're playing." You dropped your ham shank, which was a violation of some code somewhere, and you could almost _feel_ the Administrator huff in disbelief, finger hovering over the intercom to scold you. But you didn't care. You had been putting up with the humiliation all day now with no promise of respite. You were going to deck this guy.  
    You came at him, fist cocked in the air, and you saw the briefest glimpse of fear in his eyes. He dropped his kukri, and moved out of the way. You steered after him, and he began laughing again.  
    "Enough! Just let me kill you!"  
    "That's pretty dark, love. You might need a shrink-"  
    But you got him. You cornered him in the room and readied yourself for another punch. But, before it could connect, his hand came up and grabbed your wrist. Fingers curled around your slim forearm, he gave you a gentle squeeze. Your eyes met in a heated gaze, your mouth growing into a restless snarl, his thinning into a stern frown.  
    "I don't want to hurt you."  
    "Then explain all the times you shot me, asshole!" You snapped your arm out of his grip. That thin smile of his grew into a sheepish grin, almost apologetic in nature.   
    "I just wanted to get your attention s'all."   
    Your brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand," you whisper, frowning.  
    "Well, it worked, didn't it?"   
    At that, you shook your head. "Couldn't you have thrown paper airplanes? Sent a letter? Just _talked_  to me?"  
    "Kinda hard to accomplish that when 8 other people are on my ass."  
    You conceded that his excuse was fair. "...I guess."  
    An air of discomfort filled the room as you both sat in silence. You watched him, your gaze uninhibited by your glasses, as they had been knocked off in the struggle. With a heavy sigh, you cocked your head to the side and tried a smile. And then, with all the amicability you could stomach, you offered him your hand.  
    "I'm sorry I wanted to kill you so badly. Truce?"  
    His hand crept up and held yours, giving it a firm shake. "Truce."  
    You sat down beside him, both of your backs against the wall; in the same spot you had just been waiting for him. You weren't the best at conversation, so you listened in to the lulling sounds of battle. You heard maniacal Medic laughter, annoying Scout banter, and the occasional hearty declaration from Engi whenever a new building was erected. The noise had been static to you for years. You didn't think about what they were saying or doing. You just honed in on voices and pulled a trigger. Snipers were pretty reclusive in that right. They didn't have time to talk to their team, as they usually holed themselves up in their nests. You tried to be a team player, in assisting with fires and captures, but ultimately, your job was to stay back and thin the crowd. And that job suited you, you found, as it gave you the energy for after the battle, when you got to go back to base and enjoy some time with your team.   
    "Someone's going to come up at some point. Just warning ya." Mr. Mundy said, breaking your train of thought.  
    "I'm aware."  
    Another wave of silence, though instead of steeping in it, becoming comfortable with the respite, this silence droned on, and left you itchy to clear it.  
    "Why did you want my attention, anyway?" you asked, turning to face your male counterpart.  
    "Right, I'm glad you asked. I wanted to-"   
    "Enemy sniper!" called Solly, appearing seemingly out of thin air, rushing from the entrance on the opposite side of the room. Mundy was immediately up, and hurdled over you as Soldier unleashed 4 rockets at once. You shrieked, rolling away from their trajectory, but still unfortunately caught up in the leftover smoke.  
    "Easy, Doe!"  
    "Sorry, miss! You'll be okay -- no friendly fire today!" Soldier offered you that adorable, goofy grin of his, and he was on his way out the door, chasing after BLU's Sniping fiend. Or perhaps, now he was your friend. Right?  
    You got to your feet, dusting off your pants and reclaiming your discarded rifle and shank. You could only take two steps out the door, before an arrow landed in the window beside you. It webbed into little cracks and creases emanating from the arrow, which stuck straight out the glass. Along the body of the arrow was a small little scrap of twine, knotted together with a letter swinging aimlessly from it. You plucked the parchment, adjusting your sunglasses so you could read the print. It read:  
    "You're a nice bird and all, so I thought I'd offer to you some private sniping lessons, yeah? Not in any sleazy way. But, I noticed you struggle a bit today. I must be out of your skill level. We can fix that. ;o) - Sniper."  
    You growled, eyeing the crudely drawn winking face he embellished the page with. You nearly crumpled the sheet into an incoherent mass of ink and paper, until your eyes caught glimpse of Mundy, meters ahead of you, but that annoying smile of his could be seen miles away. He shouted at you, but it was lost in the chaos of the battle. And then... did he wink at you? Your frown weakened into a perplexed grin.   
    "I'll show you, asshole!" you cried, with all the air in your lungs, hoping to reach him as the distance between you two greatened. "You're going to see exactly who's out of the other's league!"  
    He was out of sight, ducking behind the frame of a door to the 4th cap point. You relaxed a bit, hooking your rifle onto a strap behind you. As you sped forward after the next point, you desperately hoped he heard you, because he was going to _eat_ his words.


	2. In the Night Air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure if I'd continue this. The kudos certainly played a part in the creation this chapter. Thank you for reading, I'll definitely put some more time into this story if you all like it.

    It was midnight when you finally worked up the courage to escape your hovel of a room and take up that jerk's offer. After hours of pacing the floor, having a one-sided debate about the ethics of sneaking into the enemy base, and plenty of cups of coffee, you came to the conclusion that, fuck it, you were going to go see him.  
    He needed to know how much better you were. Yesterday was an off-day for you, you assured yourself, and he needed to see that as well. Maybe after shooting a few cans and birds down, he would get off your back and you both could go back to sniping each other, no holds barred. That seemed like the best course of action. After all, your team could see how useful you were. If only your sole competitor would open up his damn, egomaniacal, stupid,  _stupid_  eyes and see that.  
    Although, those stupid eyes were a pretty shade of blue.   
    You tried to clear your head, and strengthen your resolve.  
     _I'm doing this_ , you told yourself.  _I'm going to show him.  
    _ And with that thought, you departed from your room. RED kept you in this small box, hardly acceptable as a living arrangement, but it was referred to as the "interim barracks" by Spy, whose sense of humour settled on the fine line of "willing douchebag" and "suave bastard". Yet, you found him charming. Maybe it was the accent. However, no matter how he embellished the word, that room was too small for you. You would only be held there until Miss Pauling could figure out something else. RED had a watchtower of sorts that belonged to your predecessor, but some mysterious event left it in a state unfit for living. Which was a bummer because it looked like such a fine set up. It was isolated, quiet, and had an amazing view. You could think of nothing better suited for you.  
    As you tiptoed from your room, softly closing the door behind you, you utilised your adroit ability to evade the attention of others. It was a useful trick in slipping away from the heat of battle to a safer vantage point. And now, it was useful in making sure Demo, who slept in the much larger room beside yours, wouldn't hear you. You made quick work of scouting the base, eventually locating the inconspicuously labeled "EXIT" door towards the west side of the facility.  
    You nearly made your escape when you heard an eerily familiar noise. It was at that point that Spy uncloaked right at your side.  
    "Mon Ami, where are leaving to at these small hours of the night?" In the dim light, you could barely make out the glint of interest in his eyes as he side-glanced you.   
    "Why are you always so god-damned nosy, dude?" You turned away from him in a huff, and put your body weight into the door, shoving it right open. To your surprise, Spy's hand grabbed you, fingers bearing down hard on your flesh. You nearly wheezed in surprise, and slight discomfort. Before you could tell him off for his lack of respect for personal space, he drew you nearer, his lips hovering by your ear.  
    "You should be careful with the friends you make. I know what you are up to, my dear. Keep your wits about you."  
    He pulled away, and you two shared a brief, yet daunting, second of silence. In the moment after, you caught a smirk growing on his lips before he went invisible. Footsteps sounded, going softer and softer as he sauntered away. A long, intimate shudder crawled up your spine, leaving goosebumps in its wake. It took you a few seconds to shake off your daze, and proceed en route.  
    "Damn spooky creep." As you left the building, you could hear a delighted chuckle.  
  
    You were a quick runner. Scout had remarked before that you should ditch the rifle and go his way. And although being a scout promised more exciting encounters on the battlefield, you couldn't stand the amount of energy you drained while running. Scout must have forty cups of coffee a day, because he never breaks a sweat. Yet there you were, at the BLU base within minutes of departure, but as a huffing, sopping mess crumpling against the doorstep. You hoped Spy hadn't followed you because he would surely never unsee the mess that you were.  
    After catching your breath for a minute, as well as scoping out the outer schematics of the BLU base, you found yourself ready for the "mission". You nearly entered through the front door before a thought hit you. Through examining the facility's exterior, you had discovered that BLU was nearly identical to Red. At least, on the outside they looked the same. Which made you wonder: does Sniper have a nest? Maybe you'd finally get the opportunity to go up in that decrepit old watch tower. But with one of BLU's mercs alongside you.  
     _You win some, you lose some,_  you bartered. And with that thought, you softly raced toward where you thought the tower could be. If BLU base continued to be like RED base, you wagered his nest would be a few hundred metres away from the north wall. And when you rounded the corner of the building, sure enough, you saw that nest hobbling high up in the air, supported by sturdy, yet aged wooden stilts. You softened your footsteps, and fell back into a slow pace. Carefully, you pulled your rifle from its holster, and peered down the scope. The lights in the room were off, but you saw the faint glow of something blue. Narrowing your eyes helped you focus, and you realised you were looking at a laser dot. You gently lifted your rifle, and from the quaint red light of your rifle, you saw a smile illuminated in the dark.  
    The blue dot went black, and then lights came up in Mundy's nest. He beckoned you from his open window, and thus you went forward. You slung your rifle around your back, and ascended the ladder to his room. You came to a boardwalk that ran along the circumference of the tower, which you reached through a hatch. When you pulled yourself up, you saw him waiting for you. His forearms supported him on the railing of the boardwalk as he leaned forward and watched the dark scenery. He had shit posture.  
    "Not the best time to come for lesson, is it?" His voice was barely audible, as if he were speaking to himself.  
    "When else could I come over?" Your words almost came as a challenge, but truthfully, you didn't want to admit it took you so long to consider his offer.  
    "After the battle. Everyone settles in for the night. Most of them have a nice dinner together; I like to go up here and brush up on my aim." The Aussie straightened himself up a bit, and then leaned his head to the side in thought. No words were said as he stared off. It was so dark. How could he see anything out there? "I get to see enough of them during the day. Sometimes a man jus' needs his alone time."  
    You decided to inch closer, and assume his pose as you joined him in the far-off staring. There was a certain type of blackness that went past unnerving, and entered the realm of engaging. That was the black of tonight. You couldn't make out much, but the ambiguity brought you no anxiety. You simply watched the dark, and wondered what creatures scurried straight past your eyes, but out of your sight. As a sniper, you felt you could see  _everything_. And that wasn't your ego talking. It was something you genuinely prided yourself in. You had to see the movement, the little mannerisms of the other team. You had to see them before they saw you, because your helping the team depended on not being killed. So, to be so blind was enlightening.   
    "I don't have much to offer you, not at these hours."  
    His voice caught your attention. When you looked at him, you found he had abandoned his gazing, and was now looking at you. The light from his room perfectly illuminated half of his face. He wasn't wearing his glasses or his hat. His hair laid flat on his head, with a few stray strands poking out. Mundy had a very gaunt face, with stubble and light crow's feet. If it weren't for the fact that this face mostly annoyed you, you'd say he looked nice.  
    "Hey, wake up," said Mundy, which stirred you from your trance. "You might want to go home for the night."  
    You nodded.  
    "I guess I didn't put enough thought into this," you muttered, spacing out once more at the dark scenery.  _Or maybe too much thought_. You felt the weight on the deck railing shift as Mundy stood up and backed away from it. This visit felt so abrupt. You weren't quite ready to leave, not after all the work put into going there.   
    "When can I come back?" you asked, swiveling around so that you leaned your back into the railing, your elbows your supports. He was rubbing his forearm thoughtfully, eyes up at the sky as he clicked his tongue a few times.  
    "Whenever you want, really." His eyes lowered to meet yours. "I hate to kick you out, but you're welcome to come back at any time." The corners of his lips quirked into a gentle smile.  
    "Just not after 11, right?" you laughed.  
    "Well, you can, but we wouldn't be doing anything sniping related." He winked.  
    At that, you huffed a few disconcerted laughs, and rushed away from the railing. His joke completely threw you off balance, and you didn’t want to risk falling headfirst into the desert ground.  
    "Yeah, uh-hm, yeah! I'll see you tomorrow, and... uh... y-yeah." Your face felt hot, and you desperately wanted to throw a punch at him, if it weren't for the fact you were so flustered.  
    "I'm teasing ya, Sheila. Go home, a'right?" He patted your shoulder, and you nodded, without another word, and began your descent from his nest. When you reached the ground, you didn't look behind you, and hurried across the BLU grounds. The night wind hit your face as you sped away, and you tried your hardest to shake the embarrassment of earlier.  
     _You just **laughed** , you idiot! The dude was flirting, you should've decked him!  
    _You heard footsteps behind you, which made you stop on a dime and whirl around. No-one was there.  
    "Spy, you better fuck off. I am in no mood for the run-around."  
    A small chuckle, then the uncloaking noise.  
    "What can I say, mon Cheri, I worry for you. I wasn't going to let you infiltrate BLU with no back up." Spy stood before you, his usual red suit and mask adorned, with a cigarette peering out from between his lips. It was lit, with a wisp of smoke funneling up towards the starry sky. With a little huff, he pulled it out and blew the smoke from his mouth, a very thin smile greeting you.  
    You waved the smoke away. "I appreciate it, but could you be less threatening?"  
    "In what way?" he asked, almost playfully, as if sneaking behind someone for a good hour in the middle of night was _funny_ , a joke to be laughed at, and not an actual nightmare you had just lived.

     “Oh, I don’t know, maybe just say, ‘Hey, just so you know, I think I’m gonna tail you to protect you while you infiltrate the base, so don’t be afraid when you hear and see footsteps in the sand behind you but there isn’t anyone there’.”

     Spy erupted in laughter. “Oh, my dear, you fail to understand why I did what I did. It is the same reason _I_ am the spy, and _you_ are the sniper.” He placed a gloved hand on your cheek, narrowing his eyes. “Just trust in my expertise.”

     You shook your head, and therefore his hand, which fell gracefully from your face to his side. Your lips curled into a minute snarl. “Spy, I’m asking you, RED to RED. Please be less predatory in your protection. I will retaliate if I think I’m going to fucking _die_.”

     Spy huffed indignantly. “Fine.” He withdrew from his position a few inches beside you, facing away as he heaved long, flustered breaths. “I will be uncloaked for the remainder of your trip.”

     “Thank you,” you muttered, somewhat annoyed. And then the both of you trekked back to RED base, though at a much slower pace than before. It was a trip spent in silence, which allowed you to reflect on your encounter with Mundy earlier. To simplify the excursion, you were a mess. You had no sense of conversational pacing. And even worse, you couldn’t react to simple flirting.

     You released an annoyed yell, though not so loud to alert either of the bases. Spy, however, clearly heard it.

     “What in the world was that?”

     “Spy, I’m terrible with men,” you admitted.

     “I could’ve told you that,” he chuckled. “You’re a man yourself, if you haven’t noticed. All this shooting and punching has someone stunted your ability to connect with your… interests.”

     He matched his pace with yours. “What brings this up?” he asked, suddenly very interested in the conversation.

     “You know exactly what it is,” you sighed, defeated.

     “Did your trip with your boyfriend not work out?”

     “He’s not my- I mean, we couldn’t exactly date, he’s-“

     “He’s BLU, Cheri, I understand that. But why are you so worried about just talking? I thought you two were training?”

     You stopped in your tracks, turning to face the agent in complete disbelief. Having waited a good minute for him to explain himself, you realised from his silence that he was waiting for you to do the same.

     “You seriously don’t care I’m out training with the enemy?”

     “Pah, ‘enemy’, such a childish phrase. We’re merely on opposite sides of the same coin. And given how non-confrontational you and your lot are, I imagine snipers are even more disconnected from the intimacy of so-called ‘battle’. We fight for points, suitcases, and payloads. The goals are always the same. It’s like clockwork, love.”

     You shake your head, still somewhat disjointed in your understanding of his lesson. “Meaning…?”

     “You put too much sentiment in your work. It’s not as dire as you make it out to be. Have you ever noticed how much fun your teammates have?”

     You paused to consider his answer.

     Spy continued, more abruptly, “it’s not a hard question.”

     “Yes. Scout gets annoying with how much he loves it.”

     Spy laughed, clearly sharing your belief. Scout, as wonderful as he was, had becomes the team’s punching bag behind his back. He was so in love with himself that it had become the one thing that kept the team from true sanity. Or, given who the team was, maybe he was the thing that kept them from becoming sane again. He was a sort of mascot. He knew exactly how to play a character, and while that character had its quirks, he was still everyone’s favourite, and thankfully _only_ Scout.

     “So just enjoy yourself, dear,” Spy finished.

     You nodded, sated with that advice. “Okay.”

     The rest of the walk was spent in true quiet. The desert wind had died down, and even the nocturnal creatures had gone to rest. It was eerily quiet, but thankfully you kept your composure. It seemed you had this innate skill to tune out the quiet. It wasn’t a quiet easily defined, but you had known it as the death of the air, when everything goes still for that one second before you pulled the trigger. A perfectly-aligned shot would disrupt the scene’s ease, and the quiet would dissipate.

     The quiet of that night was oddly familiar.

     You arrived at the base in an hour, a pitiful time compared to your departure. You turned to Spy and nodded; he did the same.

     As you bid adieu to your favourite Frenchie, he placed his hand on the small of your back, and as he passed by you, whispered something coolly in your ear. You shivered, eyes glazed over with dread as you watched him enter his room.

     It took you a contemplative three minutes before you snapped out of your daze. Turning to your door, you put all your weight into pushing it open, and with a sigh, quietly shut it behind you. You undressed, appreciative of the breeze hitting the bared flesh of your stomach and hips. You had found yourself quite warm, and somewhat clammy. You slid into an oversized shirt and proceeded to get comfortable in your bed.

     Sleep wouldn’t come for another forty or so minutes, as you stared up at the ceiling and visualised Spy’s words over and over again.

 

     “ _Be careful who you trust here, l’amour.”_


	3. Revelation

            The operation was Thunder Mountain. One of your favourites. It would take a massive, looming presence on your well-being to make such an exhilarating map anything short of a blast. Truly. This map was perfect for you – nests galore, hiding spots in the quietest and most clandestine crannies of the map. It was almost as if the map was made for you.

            Or something.

            However, there _was_ a looming presence that you just couldn’t seem to shake that day. You did your damnedest to lose that twerp wherever you went, but he wasn’t satisfied unless he cornered you.

            You had _just_ left spawn when he nearly slammed into you, face-on-face.

            “ _Heee-ey!_ Mundy!” said the Scout in his irritating tone. You know the one. **The** tone. The tone he used when he had some kinda dirt on you to blackmail you with. Or tease you about until the end of time.

            “Scout.” You were short, and icy. “I need to get to the third checkpoint. We only have 2 minutes seconds left, and BLU is halfway to-“

            “Noooo,” he chirped, “they’re doing just fine without you.”

            You huffed, feeling ire bubble up your throat like lava. “They don’t _need me_ ; you say?” You began to cock a fist at him, aiming directly for that shit-eating grin, when he threw up his hands and all that stupid pride drained from his punk-ass face.

            “OKAY, okay! You can’t mess up the goods here, lady,” he clumsily fell back, a few feet farther from you. Smart move. “I heard the Administrator was talking about you to Miss Pauling the other day…”

            Your eyes immediately went wide, and a sinking feel drained down your body like sub-zero sand. Usually you would pay Scout’s gossip no mind; he made up half the shit he spouted just to get attention. But this time, something chewed at your insides, warning you that the worst was to come.

            _Did she find out about me visiting BLU last week…?_

            Scout was almost shaking, his smile finding its way back on his face. After watching you settle in the anxiety for a few excruciating moments, he blurted out, “You’re getting a new room!”

            You shake out of your daze and meet Scout’s eye line.

            “Wha-?”

            “It’s true! I managed to squeeze some dirt outta Pauling about Medic and Heavy as well, but if I told them they’d kill me.”

            You feel some excitement rise to your cheeks, dusting your features with a pink shade, and your lips curled into a genuine smile.

            _It’s about damn time!_

            You were going to ask Scout for more of the story, more _truth_ , hopefully, when the bell signaling a victory rang our sharply, eliciting joyous whooping from the Boston boy before you. You noted how snobby it was for him to celebrate a victory he had no part in.

            “So, Scout, wait, about this room,” you tried grabbing his arm to catch his attention, but he slipped from your curled fingers, and winked at you before running towards the end of the map to congratulate everyone. As his smaller frame grew smaller and smaller, speeding off into the distance, you heaved a sigh to yourself.

            _Just like him to run off just when things were getting good._

            Scowling to yourself, you ran the back of your hand along your temple, wiping away the sweat that had accumulated there throughout the duration of the mission. Heaving a sigh, you started forward to meet your comrades when you heard some rustling behind you.

            You cautiously spun around, eyes darting to the source of the noise. You see a shadow behind the shed by spawn, and your eyes instinctively narrow, feet moving on their own as you investigate.

            “Spy…?” you mutter, shuffling towards the shed.

            No answer. Great.

            “Spy, what did I tell you about this sneaking around business?” you bark. “I really fucking hate it! Spy-!”

            Suddenly, as you nearly reach the edge of the shed, a hand shoots out from the door frame and yanks you inside. Losing your balance from the sudden inertia, you back roll into the shed and hit the wall with a thud. Aching from head to toe, you lurch forward, suddenly nauseous. Concussion?

            “Uhhgh…” you whimper, slowly lifting your head to see a concerned, _familiar_ face.

            “Aw, shit, Sheila. I really did a number to ya, didn’t I?”

            Mundy kneels down, hovering over you with distress in his eyes.

            “Mate, I’m sorry, that was all my fault. A little over-excited, I suppose.”

            Your vision slowly comes back, and what was once a blur now came to be the Aussie on BLU’s face. You hold your head with one hand, counting to 10 as you breathe sluggishly. At 10, your stomach seemed to have calmed, and you finally fix your gaze on that bastard.

            “Really?” you deadpan, glowering up at his stupid, _STUPID_ face.

            “Hey, I apologised, didn’t I?” He gets back to his feet and folds his arms together. Avoiding your gaze, you can tell he’s a bit upset with you.

            _Why is **HE** upset??? I’m the one doubling over in pain over here!_

            “Either way,” you start, wobbly as you get to your feet, “we gotta stop meeting like this.”

            Mundy spits out a sharp laugh, and turns to face you again.

            “Agreed.”

            “What is it this time?” you ask, checking your watch. It’s been 6 minutes since the mission ended. No doubt everyone was heading back to base. You should be meeting them soon, lest they accuse you of being an introvert or hating them or whatever else they’d come up with. They were a creative, vindictive sort. You didn’t want to risk their wrath.

            “You haven’t stopped by since last week. Figured I’d make the first move,” he admitted, pacing toward the other entryway to the shed. He peered out through the wide door frame, and seemed to carefully scan the exterior.

            “I don’t need lessons. That’s why,” you retorted, joining him at the door.

            “Psh, if you say so.” He leaned his frame out, head flitting left and right. He seemed anxious.

            At that point, after staring at him for a minute, you realised you were getting anxious as well. If he thought someone had followed you two, you had better trust him. You gazed intently into the distance, and the glimmer of something bright and shiny caught your eye. In the third level of the building before the bridge you noticed movement, and the setting sun glared at you through what appeared to be a gun.

            “Do you see that?” you whisper, inching farther behind the frame, hiding yourself in the shadow of the wall.  Mundy seemed to be way ahead of you on that observation, as he gathered you into his arms and pulled you behind him as he peered out the frame. Suddenly, he smiled.

            “Must be your friend,” he muttered huskily.

            What? You had friends?

            You wormed your way out of his grasp and peeked around the corner of the entryway again. The glint was gone, but you could see the faint outline of something moving. If your instincts were true, which, let’s be honest, they always were, you would say Spy had just cloaked. You followed the translucent entity until it disappeared inside the building, and you felt your hunch was correct.

            Wiggling out of his arms completely, you stood in the entryway and heaved a long sigh.

            “Well, good news is he’s gone,” you say. Inwardly, you add that the other good news is he didn’t shoot Mundy when he had the chance.

            “Nah, the good news is he didn’t shoot me,” muttered your male counterpart, placing himself directly behind you.

            You nearly jump. Not just at his presence looming behind you, but at the fact that you two seemed eerily similar. _What,_ you pondered, _were we grown in a lab together or something?_

Like, c’mon. Not even identical twins are that in-sync.

            Starting to feel your skin crawl from Mundy’s proximity to you, you start pacing the grounds of the front of the map.

            He followed after you, mouthing a warning. You knew everyone would be heading back home at that point, they were ravenous mercs desperate for their dinner. That would buy you a little time. And a little more privacy, to boot.

            “They’re gone,” you insisted.

            “Not all of them,” he mumbled.

            _Spy is harmless,_ you thought to yourself. You _hoped_ to yourself. The Frenchman seemed to be after your better interests, only interfering to keep you safe. But at the same time, he was so obstinate on being private about his motivations. You wish he would just be forward with you, instead of sneaking around behind your back, only giving you reassurances when you were already in a bad mood.

            “Well,” you sighed, “you have me.”

            Mundy had paced ahead of you, scoping out some of your favourite nests. After taking a few steps forward, he stopped at the incline that led to the first base and the bridge connecting to the last point. Craning his neck far back, he looked up at the windows overlooking BLU spawn. That’s where Spy, or at least what you still assume to be Spy, was watching you two.

            Spy’s like an overprotective brother, you noted. You almost chuckled at that thought.

            “Penny for your thoughts?” you finally ask, wondering why the silence had stretched on for so long. Mundy simply shook his head, and climbed up the steep walkway. Starting to get agitated, you followed him.

            “Y’know, guy, I’m trying to be relaxed here. I’m trying to play along, listen to you, just have a good time. But if you wanted my attention so bad, I don’t understand why you’re kinda, I dunno, ignoring me?”

            “Hush, Sheila.” He raised a hand, back to you as he trekked onward, to silence you. Oh, that only made you angrier.

            “Oh, my _GOD!_ ” You couldn’t keep it in any longer. If there was one thing you couldn’t stand, it was being brushed aside. It was like Mundy was actively pushing your buttons. You were just about to bring out the trusty ham when he suddenly whipped around to face you. As he was clearly taller than you, he leaned down slightly to somewhat meet your eye line. There was an out-of-character severity in his eyes. You took this to mean he was serious about you keeping quiet.

            You let out a little nod, but as soon as he turned back around, hissed a small, “bastard…”

            You two continued on like this for a good 10 minutes. He would look around, insist on you being quiet, and stop suddenly to check behind you two. It was like something spooked him. You had no clue what could be causing this sort of precaution.

            And then, that’s when you noticed what he was following. A brush against your backside, almost like a hand on the small of your back. You slowly, methodically turned your head behind you. You saw Spy’s outline. What, was he fucking insane?

            Mundy’s ears perked. He whipped back, and kicked the space behind you. Spy released a grunt and fell backward.

            “Aha! Knew you were still crawling around here, you little gremlin.” Mundy was laughing. Spy, now uncloaking, staggered to his feet and brushed the dirt off his expensive suit. You couldn’t understand what possessed him to wear such nice material to a literal bloodbath each day. Maybe it was his ego.

            No, it was definitely his ego.

            Spy sauntered up to you and put his arm around your waist protectively.

            “Such a brute, acting like an animal in a woman’s company.” Spy was just playing with his old enemy, as you could feel the low vibration of his laugh, his body pressed tightly against yours.

            “Spy, what did I tell you about this following thing?” you asked, almost in a whisper.

            “I’ve been discreet about your little fling with BLU. The least you could do to repay me would be not looking a gift horse in the mouth.”

            “Gift Frenchie in the mouth,” corrected Mundy with a sly grin.

            “Still don’t know what you see in Kangaroo Jack over here,” muttered Spy, ice in his tone.

            “Me neither,” you replied, more as a joke than anything else. Mundy’s cocked brow made you realise you may have offended him. Whoops. Call it payback for launching you into a wooden shed earlier.

            “I think you should let the lady decide if she wants to be snooped on constantly by Big Brother,” said the Aussie, arms crossed as he took a step closer to you and Spy.

            “Pah,” scoffed Spy. “As you wish.” Then your teammate released you from his hold, and backed away. “You’ve been plenty clear about this before, _Cheri_ , but I still implore you to consider your safety. _Be careful_ ,” he enunciated slowly. Something like an alarm bell went off in your head.

            You seemed to understand the signal. And really, it seemed so reckless of you to cavort with the enemy as you had been. Spy truly was doing you a favour by keeping you company, keeping you _safe_. Really, you didn’t know Mundy as well as you should.

            You nodded, very carefully, and Spy grinned ear to ear.

            “So I shall stay?” he clarified.

            Again, you nodded. Sniper scoffed, and starting walking away.

            You shared a concerned look with Spy, who seemed to understand your predicament. He nodded, cloaked, and began scaling the building beside you. When it was clear Spy was out of sight, you followed after the other marksman.

           

            “Come on,” you pleaded, stumbling over your footing as you tried to match Mundy’s pace. “Please, just stop walking!”

            He wouldn’t budge. And soon, he would be reaching BLU spawn. When that happened, you would be locked out.

            At this point, you were desperate. You slung your arms around his waist and dug your heels in the ground. He stopped momentarily, only to groan, and then continued stomping away. _Christ, how is he so strong?_

            You tried throwing him off-balance by piling your weight in one direction. He was straight as a board. The other direction? Nope. What if you threw yourself backwards, with a little momentum? Nada.

            Then you tried climbing up on his back, legs locking around his waist. This was your Hail Mary, because if this didn’t stop him, that was it for the day. Game over. It occurred to you then how annoying you were capable of being.

            As you quickly approached the spawn door, you closed your eyes and braced for impact.

            You kept them closed until you heard Sniper’s confused, “what the…?”

            You opened them both slowly, and that’s when it struck you: you were in BLU spawn. A RED was in BLU spawn. You had never heard of that happening before.

            As a courtesy, you hopped off his back and started snooping around the little locker room. It was pretty similar to RED’s. A lot of items seemed familiar to you. The pin-up calendar, the discarded boots and coats, even Pyro’s cute little flower purse.

            Like a child, you ran around the room, paying no mind to Mundy as he inspected the spawn door with intense incredulity. Little did you know that his entire world had been flipped upside down, but ideas were brewing in his mind.

            “I have an idea, Sheila,” he said suddenly.

            “What’s that?” you asked, finally returning to his side.

            He looked down at you with a wolfish grin.

            “This is the easiest way to get from base to base. No more sneaking around. No more risking getting caught. This is brilliant.”

            With that “little boy on Christmas” look in his eyes, you couldn’t help but share his enthusiasm.

            “Yeah, that’ll be nice down the line, but what about Spy? How will he get in?”

            That’s when his grin became more mischievous.

            “Exactly.”

           

**Author's Note:**

> I have put zero thought into this. As a sniper main, I have been toying with the idea of a dynamic between two snipers who bicker and feud all the time, as I do with other sniper mains. I apologise to those alienated by the female POV.


End file.
